Moving into Week 12 of the 2012-2013 college basketball season, the Colonial Athletic Association, there seems to be plenty of parity in the mid-major conference. Well, there’s a bevy of parity following the first place Northeastern Huskies who hold a three-game lead over the second place George Mason Patriots and James Madison Dukes. Behind them, Drexel and Georgia State are also surging. Naturally, this week’s CAA Player awards reflect the standing of the league.

In their best season-start ever in CAA play at 8-0, Northeastern has been lead by their superb guard and wing play. One of those exceptional players in senior co-captain Joel Smith. Last week, Smith averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the Huskies’ wins over William & Mary and Mason. Most notably, Smith tied his career-high with 29 points in the team’s double-overtime victory over the Tribe.

“I got a lot of experience handling the ball when [senior guard] Jon Lee was out,” Smith says to explain his success. “It’s all coming together now.”

For his efforts, Smith earned this week’s CAA Player of the Week—the second straight for Northeastern players.

The other conference weekly award, CAA Rookie of the Week, was awarded to two players for the first time all season. However, one of the winners, R.J. Hunter, is no stranger to the award.

With this week’s accolade, Hunter, the leader of Georgia State earned his fifth Rookie of the Week honor of the season. The only other rookie to earn the award multiple times is Hunter’s counter-part, Andre Nation, who earned the award for the second time this week as well. Hunter averaged 18.0 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Panthers this week, while Nation averaged 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Dukes. Both players have played significant roles in their teams’ respective above-.500 conference records.

Jake Fischer is the CAA Columnist for Rant Sports-NCAA Basketball. Make sure to follow Jake on Twitter @JakeLFischer.